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The ISAF Sailor Classification Code is a service provided by ISAF, giving events and classes a cost-free, international system for classification of sailors. It is incorporated in ISAF Regulation 22.

The changes to the Code follow the ISAF Council's approval of Urgent Submission M05-08 at the 2008 ISAF Mid-Year Meeting in Qingdao, China. The update to the Classification Code amends the final paragraph of the General introduction to the Code as follows (updated text is underlined and in bold):

The display of advertising on a boat or equipment beyond Category A in the Advertising Code set out in Regulation 20, even if payment is received for it, does not influence the sailor's classification in this Code.

Nothing in the provisions of this Code shall permit a sailor to take any action which is contrary to the purpose and spirit of the Code or which is a subterfuge for circumventing the Code. When a sailor is found by the Classification Authority to be in breach of this provision it may change his classification as appropriate and /or make a Report under RRS 69 of The Racing Rules of Sailing.

The updated version of the ISAF Sailor Classification Code is available to download from www.sailing.org/classification. The French, Italian and Spanish translations of the Code will be updated as soon as possible and be available from the same place.

The revision to the Code comes after concerns from the ISAF Classification Commission in two areas:

1. That the previous provision only referred to the 'display of advertising' and did not make it clear that the advertising may be paid for
2. That there was a danger that the advertising provision would have been used as a subterfuge for circumventing the Code

For more details on the reasoning behind the change, click here to read Urgent Submission M05-08 in full.